How to Prepare an Expense Report: Fields, Review & Export

Start with the report owner

Enter a report title, employee and department or project. Decide which outlays belong in this report before entering lines. The builder includes every committed entry; there is no hidden date filter. The dates on the rows show the period covered. Use a separate report for another employee so the requested reimbursement has one owner.

Record the gross amount paid

Each line records a valid calendar date, merchant, business purpose, category, currency, positive amount, payer and receipt reference. Amount is the gross outlay you enter, including any tax already contained in the paid total. The builder does not calculate VAT, tax recovery, deductible percentages, tips or per-diem allowances. Record the actual agreed outlay rather than inventing tax treatment.

Separate spending from the claim

Choose employee-paid or company-paid. Only an employee-paid line explicitly marked reimbursable enters requested reimbursement. A company card purchase remains recorded spending but cannot be claimed again. Personal or otherwise excluded employee purchases can stay in the report with reimbursement unchecked; explain the treatment in the purpose field.

Use the template or enter rows

Download the blank CSV header, add rows in Excel or another spreadsheet app, and save UTF-8 CSV with the exact header order. The file has no spreadsheet formulas. Dates use YYYY-MM-DD, amounts use a decimal point, and reimbursable uses yes/no. Or add lines directly in the browser. An entry is committed only when you choose Add or Update; pending edits block export and printed results.

Preview before replacing a report

Paste CSV or choose a CSV/JSON file, preview validation, then explicitly confirm replacement. Import replaces the entire committed report; it never silently merges entries. A failed import leaves the existing report intact. JSON restores the report owner as well as entries; CSV uses the currently entered report details. Clear/discard pending edits before committing an import.

Keep a usable copy

Download project JSON to preserve original text and edit later. CSV is an editable, line-by-line export; it prefixes formula-like text with an apostrophe for spreadsheet safety, so use JSON for exact text roundtrips. Print the full report or use the browser’s Save as PDF. Nothing here sends a report to an employer or confirms approval or payment. Download files before closing the tab.